Huge California PV Project Under Way

There’s a lot of work to be done–years of work–but construction is under way in California on what its builders say will be the largest solar power plant in the world.

MidAmerican Solar and First Solar this month held a groundbreaking celebration at the site of Topaz Solar Farm in San Luis Obispo County, Calif. The 550-megawatt (MW) photovoltaic plant is expected to take three years to build. The companies said the construction project will employ 400 workers and generate around $417 million in local economic activity, and when its done will provide enough energy to power some 160,000 average California homes.

Image via First Solar

No doubt Topaz will be big, but will it actually be the biggest PV plant in the world, as the companies claim? Perhaps not. The Indian state of Gujarat announced late last month the completion of a mammoth installation that apparently checks in at 214 MW. That Indian project was completed in less than two years, during which the Topaz development has traveled quite the rocky road.

Topaz looked to be on the rocks, but then Warren Buffett swooped in to save the day. His MidAmerican Energy Holdings — parent of MidAmerican Solar — acquired Topaz in a deal that kept First Solar in the picture as the firm that will construct, operate and maintain Topaz.

“The Topaz project will benefit the environment and the local economy,” Paul Caudill, president of MidAmerican Solar, said in announcing the groundbreaking. “A project of this size creates jobs and plays a major role in our nation’s long-term electric energy supply. We are excited to be part of the San Louis Obispo community, and we look forward to having a major presence with stakeholders now and in the future.”